A large-scale fire broke out at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, after a drone attack on the night of November 1. Video footage shared by eyewitnesses shows several fire outbreaks and thick black smoke over the industrial zone.
The first reports of explosions and a fire began to appear at around 04:00 Moscow time. According to RBC-Ukraine, local authorities initially did not comment on the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage. The drone attack is a conclusion from the distributed footage and reports of explosions, and the exact number of objects hit has not yet been officially confirmed.
The governor reported more than 100 drones
Later, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, announced that the region had been subjected to a massive attack. “A massive attack with unmanned aerial vehicles was carried out in the Nizhny Novgorod region at night and in the morning: more than a hundred drones were destroyed“, Nikitin wrote, quoted by RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, an industrial enterprise in the Kstovsky district suffered significant damage, and the assessment of damage to civilian infrastructure and property is ongoing. No details were given about the affected installation, production disruptions or possible casualties.
The plant is key to the Russian fuel system
„Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez“ is among the five largest oil refineries in Russia and the largest „Lukoil“ refinery by design capacity. The plant can process about 17 million tons of oil per year and produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, oils and other petroleum products.
Due to the threat of new attacks, temporary restrictions have been introduced on the operation of the Nizhny Novgorod airport and other airports in the Volga Federal District. At this time, there is no independent confirmation of the full extent of the damage and whether production at the plant has been halted.
Sources: pravda.com.ua, rbc.ua, 24tv.ua